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Sun released Java under the GPL in 2006 and most of JDK in mid-2007, but the first release of Android was in 2008. Or is the issue that they were developing it
by cyphar 6y ago
Sun released Java under the GPL in 2006 and most of JDK in mid-2007, but the first release of Android was in 2008. Or is the issue that they were developing it behind closed doors while it was still proprietary, even though they never distributed it to anyone?
- dragonwriter 6y agoThe first public release of Android was a beta in 2007 (also, layer in 2007, the first SDK preview was released), and it was released to OHA members before that. But the GPL is irrelevant, Google has never distributed under the GPL terms. That whatever it was doing was not under a Sun/Oracle license is not in dispute.
- cyphar 6y agoYeah I agree the GPL is not relevant to the case at hand, though it does raise the question whether (assuming Oracle wins) the logical conclusion is that the Java APIs are under the GPL/Proprietary dual-license Oracle offers today or that the copyright license itself doesn't apply to the API and a separate license is needed -- in which case I guess it's high time for GPLv4.
- pjmlp 6y agoExcept anti-GPL folks have made GPL almost irrelevant outside Java, Linux kernel, GCC and a couple of GNU tools.
- nix23 6y agoThat's because the GPL is not as Hippie as you might think. Your code is just protected if it gets re-distributed, that's why google never ever has to opensource their "Server OS/Kernel". Also they changed GCC to GPLv3 which is just a super stupid decision for a Compiler.